Chibok: First lady gives ultimatum on rescue of girls

The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan has blamed of the abduction of 234 secondary school girls while writing exams in Chibok, Borno State on the state government.

She made the accusation on Friday night during a meeting on the incident with wives of state governors, women opinion leaders, leaders of key women organizations and relevant women stakeholders at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The First lady said the state government should be held responsible for the missing girls after the Head of WAEC National Office, Mr. Charles Eguridu revealed at the meeting that the Ministry of Education in the state refused to move all WASCE candidates in the state to Maiduguri as demanded in a letter written in March by the Minister of Education to the Ministry.

The state government reportedly replied that it had adequate security in school.

Worried by the revelation, she gave the state government three-day ultimatum to not only tell Nigerians the whereabouts of the girls but ensure the release of the girls who were abducted on the 15th of April, 2014.

If the girls are not found in the next three days, she threatened to lead women groups and mothers on protest march to Borno state, the National Assembly and to the President.

According to her, she had been dealing with the issue secretly since the news of the abduction broke out but has now decided to come to the open.

Failure on the mission, she said, is not acceptable to her.

She said: “By Sunday, we must have our children. If not, we will march to Borno and ask the governor to give us our children. We will march to National Assembly to see the Senate President and will also match to see the President,”

“Within three days, something will happen. We will get to the root of the matter. I don’t come out and go back empty. I have come out and something must happen.

“We will not fold our hands and see our children kidnapped our husbands, sons, daughters also being killed. We should be more concerned. We will form a committee to call on appropriate persons to come and answer questions. They must answer us. If they say they will answer us, then they should go and bring our children.

“The demonstration will take place at their doorsteps. When they don’t answer us, we can then approach our neighbours, the President, Senate President and others to help us.”

“I have been dealing with this secretly but you have taken me to the market square. There is no more hiding.” She declared

Noting that state governors are the chief security officers of their states, she said that they must be ready to take the heat for any act of insecurity in their domain.

Recalling when her husband was the Bayelsa State governor, she said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo could call her husband in the middle of the night over any news of kidnapping in the state.

She said: “Governors are the security officers of their states. During Obasanjo’s time, anytime an oyinbo is kidnapped in Bayelsa state, he would call the governor (Jonathan) at 2am and give him 24 hours to produce the kidnapped person.”

“We now know who to ask for our children. We don’t need to embark on demonstrations from state to state,” she said.

The meeting at the First Lady Conference room, which was adjourned till 4pm on Saturday, also summoned some individuals the First Lady believed would assist in unraveling the circumstances leading to the girls’ abduction and their whereabouts.

Those summoned include the Borno State Commissioner of Police, the state Commissioner for Education, the chairman of the local government, the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Chibok, the wife of the village head, the school principal and the school gateman.

Also invited are at least two teachers from the school, the chairman and secretary of the school’s Parents Teachers Association, two house parents, two parents of missing children, and two parents whose children had returned home.

She also constituted a committee to ensure that those she summoned attend the Sunday meeting.

According to her, the committee to be chaired by the wife of Borno State governor, who was absent at the meeting, has wife of the Senator and member of the House of Representatives from the affected constituency in the state, wife of the Minister from Borno State and wife of the Chairman of the affected local government area as members.

Who is Nigeria’s President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan or Patience Jonathan? Madam Peace please as you lead the protest to Borno State to demand the release of the abducted girls from the Gorvernor, please also do the same when in the bedroom with your husband. Also, ask him why security agents fighting the insurgents were been paid N1,500.00 per day while the people he gathered in Abuja to make noise in the name of National Conference are paid N1.4 million every two weeks for 3 months. If he can justify this injustice, then we can win the war against insurgency.

Awodele Ismail

don’t mind her she is the most stupid wife on earth. if not what happen to their domain where the boko haram bomb twice within two week and if one may ask, who is the real chief security between her husband and the governors

Its not his duty to fix the salary or wages of the soldiers, there is a constituted authority.

roseline

Thank you

Alex

Yes constituted authority buy, under mr president

Samuel Offia

The question must be asked . Which fool gathered such a rich harvest of girls in one spot for sensuous BH fighters without adequate security? That fool is the saboteur . That is the same fool that informed the BH that the school is open for attack. The principal tells us that she was miles away at the time of the incident and that her daughter called her on the phone to inform her of the incident. She was not abducted.
The truth has not been told about the abducted girls. The sitting governor who is the chief security officer of the stat should tell us how these girls moved three hundred miles from Chibok to Sambisa forest unchallenged.
The way must have been cleared for them.
I fear for our country. The security apparatus is full of 5th columnists.
Stop blaming Jonathan and star asking the right questions.
The girls will be released.

edu

Mr. man you failed in your submission the governor is not the chief security officer of the state under emergency rule

Xanthos1

Even without emergency rule,the governors has never been the CSO because all the secury heads in a state reports or take order from Abuja.

roseline

Then you lack information of how security operates. please ask questions and learn. Ask rightly not rumours.

Alex

In a State where there is a state of emergency, the Governor is not the chief security officer because that aspect is taken away from him and vested in the military. And who is the commander-in-chief? That is where, i think Patience should direct her salvo at.

Williams Wise Eze

well said sir

IskaCountryman

senator ndume informed the military that an attack was going to happen somewhere else, so they turned there…

roseline

Thank you for being so objective

Alex

The Govnor is not the chief security officer, Jonathan is.

edu

Mama peace is a sharp woman and knows the weakness of her husband she’s telling Nigerians my husband is weak and not capable

james_grim_teacher

Correct… and like all sharp women she can make bad situations much worse but she is dynamic, let’s give her that.

Flint David

To start with Boko Haram issue has gone too far, it shows the weakness of Nigerian leadership. The present administration is not capable of managing the current security challenges in the country and now Patience Jonathan is not making this matter better by kicking and screaming at those given the mandate to govern the people.

I think Patience should play her role as GEJ wife and nothing more. She should leave politic to politicians and security of this nation to competent security people
and this brings me to the question of the present IGP –could someone explain to
me with 5 reasons why he should remain in office as Nigerian IGP. Since this
gay took over this post the insecurity in the country has doubled. The last IGP was replaced with one boom in Abuja and now we have two in less than two weeks

3rd issue is the National Security adviser to GEJ –we never got it right with someone like present incumbent –he was handpicked to manage this position but have failed with =100%. He should be replaced with competent person.

GEJ –can you kindly stop picking old men to manage such an active role, the Present Defense Minister has pass sale by date and should not me in this position during this time in the history of Nigerian –GEJ get rid of this gay for better.

Bayo_Bamiduro

The more information you have on this incident, the less you understand. The truth about the abduction is yet to surface. Sevurity in borno state has been heavily compromised, the cesurity forces have been infiltrated. If what the WAEC official story is the truth, then borno state government is to blame. But the ease BH insurgents move around in convoys and ovrr long distances tells a lot of story of connivance and collaboration. Indeed, it has been said that some of the abductors are known to their captives. This suggests that BH is a feature of the citizenry of that state. The people seem to live and dine with the devil.

agbobu

BUT I HOPE THAT WHAT I AM READING IS NOT WHAT I AM HEARING. YOU SENATOR ZANNAH YOU SAID THAT YOU GAVE BOKO HARAM 1.5 MILLION NAIRA FOR SALAH RAMS ON SAHARA TV AND YET GOODLUCK JONATHAN SAYS THAT HE DOES NOT KNOW THE LEADERS OF BOKO HARAM. GOODLUCK JONATHAN SHOW US THAT YOU HAVE GUTS AND BALLS AND ASK THE SECURITY FORCES TO BRING IN SENATOR ZANNAN INTO CUSTODY AND TELL THEM WHO HE OR THOSE GAVE THE MONEY TO. IF YOU FAIL TO DO THIS THEN YOU GOODLUCK JONATHAN IS BEING ECONOMICAL WITH THE TRUTH ON BOKO HARAM AND THE SECURITY OF NIGERIA AND NIGERIANS.

greatbiodun

Patients jonathan suppose to ve made this noise in the bedroom with GEJ(the fake commander in chief of arm forces)

james_grim_teacher

This dynamism of Peshe has my full admiration, she is obviously going out on a limb and her premises are wrong and she is crude, greedy and corrupt but she has finally done something I respect.
Her attitude based on suspicion is; “what is all this nonsense about girls missing?, something is not adding up and I must get to the root of it.”
I like the tough talk. I like the action. Why can’t we reverse roles and make her the president till 2015 when finally we can finally vote out the clueless one.
Obasanjo did Nigeria a grave dis-service by giving us GEJ, he should have looked closer, reached behind the man and made his wife VP to Yar’adua.
For one thing she would not have promised Northern leaders to do one term and then change his mind because of pecuniary reasons and undue influence. It would have been a firm ‘No, i cannot promise you that’ and we would have been spared all this trouble.
Anyway i don’t think the Borno state government is hiding the girls but Mama Peace’s attitude is admirable all the same and she should be given room to do her thing.

Onwuajuese Chika Prince

But The wife of the president has no constitutional rights to give orders…

tinu

is people like you that will surpport GEJ he is the most hopeless leader Nigerian will ever have

“has indeed moved the country on all facets of the economy that any in the past 20 years.” please educate yourself before GEJ became president, Nigeria as always, even when you study the emerging markets Nigeria has had the potential, it is just media nonsense , is noting new we are stil one of the poorest country in the world , the gap between this rich and poor is still wild , To be honest with you GEJ has done nothing for the country the truth hurts .

Awodele Ismail

God bless you my dear. they just being sentimental perhaps they see it as their turn and they want to spoil everything.

roseline

Tinu as I said to Awodele Discus sessions are a forum where people state their views,
opinion, perspectives. They are not a place where ego’s are greased,
your ability to accept or reject another opinion with respect to his/her
human dignity shows you are ready to discuss. We must all not agree,
we are to complement each other. Try not to be abusive when people
don’t share your perspective.

don’t tell me that if your mother was in her shoe, she will also behave irrational and stupid like her. any well, you are a benefactor there is no way you can stand upright.

roseline

Awodele, Disqus sessions are a forum where people state their views, opinion, pespectives. They are not a place where ego’s are greased, your ability to accept or reject another opinion with respect to his/her human dignity shows you are ready to discuss. We must all not agree, we are to complement each other. Try not to be abusive when people don’t share your perspective.

Awodele Ismail

it is good you are saying this, i am also very civil but you got it wrong when you started saying ‘How were you raised, you comment shows you lack training and morals’ so you first gave me the impression that you are part of the pay agents to comment on the forum. thanks.

Awodele Ismail

go home and ask your parent.

Awodele Ismail

and that is why you are where you are fools. Tell me one particular success story of this administration.

roseline

As I said earlier to you in my response. Awodele, Discus sessions are a forum where people state their views,
opinion, perspectives. They are not a place where ego’s are greased,
your ability to accept or reject another opinion with respect to his/her
human dignity shows you are ready to discuss. We must all not agree,
we are to complement each other. Try not to be abusive when people
don’t share your perspective.